YouTube officially announces new standalone music streaming service YouTube Music

Photo: YouTube

YouTube keeps its promise and officially announces a new standalone music streaming service. Appropriately called YouTube Music, the service gives users access to official songs, albums, thousands of playlists, and artist radio as well as its catalog of remixes, live performances, covers, and music videos.

Featuring a redesigned mobile app and a new desktop designed specifically for music, YouTube Music will have a big emphasis on personalization. According to the platform, it will provide users with recommendations based on their previous listening history as well as where they are and what they are doing.

Starting next Tuesday (May 22nd), users can enjoy an ad-supported version of YouTube Music for free or for a premium version that is ad-free and has background listening and downloads, they can pay $9.99 a month.

With Spotify and Apple Music dominating the music streaming industry over last few years and YouTube's late start, it will be tough for them to break through. However, in a recent interview withRolling Stone, head of product T. Jay Fowler revealed that the service is geared towards music fans who have yet to sign up for a music subscription service and want a centralized location for both video and audio. It likely won't rack upt the subscriber numbers that Spotify and Apple Music have, but it could appeal to a niche audience.